British Airways Handing Out Free Waistcoats To Passengers Flying To Moscow

World Cup fever has officially reached delirious levels in Britain, and just in case you needed further evidence of that, British Airways has now begun handing out free Gareth Southgate-style waistcoats to passengers on flights to Moscow.

Tonight, England will play their first World Cup semi-final in 28 years, taking on Croatia in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. As of this morning, English football fans could still be found making their way over to the Russian capital on last-minute flights in order to catch the game.

To celebrate, British Airways today decided to start handing out Marks & Spencer waistcoasts, the kind famously sported by England boss Gareth Southgate throughout the tournament, to any customers flying out to Moscow.

BA also handed out boarding passes to customers with the name ‘Football’ and the destination ‘Home’, while signs for ‘Check-In’ were instead marked ‘ChecK-ane’. Once they made their way onto the plane, passengers were greeted with bunting and the option of having their faces painted in the style of the St George’s cross.

England has only made a World Cup semi-final twice before, and only reached the final once, which should explain why the clash with Croatia is garnering such excitement. A petition for there to be a bank holiday in the UK if England win the 2018 tournament has attracted 200,000 signatures online, meaning the petition will now be considered for debate in parliament.